Peter Vaughan-Clarke and the rest of the cast of “The Tomorrow People” were sitting down to lunch in the restaurant at Thames Television Studios when I called to see them, and they kindly invited me to join them.

Roger Price, creator and co-writer of the series, told me first of how the idea for this exciting science fiction series was born. He explained that, if the story of the human race doesn’t end with Homo Sapiens, there may one day walk the Earth, a species of man far in advance of ourselves. Scientists have anticipated it’s evolution with a name - Homo Superior.

“The Tomorrow People” puts forward the idea that some early examples of Homo Superior are already working amongst us, working for peace in a new kind of world. They have amazing gifts, including the power to transmit their thoughts to each other and the ability to teleport themselves from place to place.

Peter Vaughan-Clarke, affectionately known to everyone as PVC, plays the part of Stephen in “The tomorrow people” and says that he finds the series enormous fun.

“When we go out on location members of the cast are sometimes recognised,” he told me. “All except me! The last time we went out filming there were millions, well perhaps thousands, of kids around and there was I thinking that I was going to be mobbed. Do you know, not one of them recognised me?”

Peter, only 5ft. 2 in. tall and 16 1/2 years old, could easily pass for many years younger.

“I have trouble when I go to discotheques,” he said. “In spite of the fact that I tell them how old I am, half the time they don’t believe me and won’t let me in.”

In spite of the fact that Peter has only been working for just over a year he has been very much in demand for television parts. He has also had a small part in the film “A Touch of Class” and appeared in pantomime with Lulu last year.

Hobbies, he told me were listening to records, spending money and expensive toys such as motor-bikes and record payers.

“I wouldn’t exactly call those toys.” I commented.

“They are men’s toys,” laughed Nicholas Young.

Nick plays John, the first character to “break out” as a Tomorrow Person.
“John was first of all told what he was by someone from another planet,” Nick explained. “He was told how to build the laboratory, given instructions as to what his purpose was and from there on took over.”

Special Effects

Nick, who lives with his mother, went to the Corona Stage School when he was 13 years old. His first professional job was appearing in a children’s film which was shown at Saturday morning cinemas, called “Eagle Rock.”
“They are still showing it apparently,” he grinned.
He first heard about “The Tomorrow People” when he was helping his agent out in her office. When Roger Price telephoned to ask who they could recommend for casting he took the call.
“I sent off 25 photographs of likely candidates...”
“Twenty-four of which were you,” interrupted Peter, with a grin.

Nick admits that he is a hoarder, collecting anything from stamps and military medals to a collection of newspapers of famous events. But his first love is his car an old MG.
“I spend most of my spare time working on that.” He told me.

The thing which really makes a programme like “The Tomorrow people” so different are the brilliant special effects which are used. A staff of highly skilled technicians and designers create and build the intricate sets and effects seen in the series.

Sue Turner, Thames Television’s Controller of children’s programmes says - “We aim to make full use of the many special effects our studios can create. The settings for the stories range from the molten centre of the Earth to the cold blackness of outer space, across the barriers of time, and travel into alien dimensions.”

“It’s sometimes very confusing,” Nick explained, “because the cast can be sitting on the floor for half an hour and nothing appears to be happening. But, in the production box, they are lining up some special effect. They might be trying to make someone look as though they were on fire or something.”

I wondered how the weightlessness was achieved.
“Well,” Nick grinned, “our weightlessness is the most painful and unpleasant process. To achieve it you have to be strapped into a harness and then lifted off the ground. It can be very uncomfortable being suspended sometimes for a very long time.”

Food Fancies

I asked the only girl of the Tomorrow People, attractive Elizabeth Adare, if she believed in ESP (Extra-sensory perception).
“Well you’ve come on the right day for that,” she laughed. “Everyone is feeling that way today. Some of us came on the bus and we were in such a “crazy” mood that we were waving to all the people on passing coaches. Then when we walked into the rehearsal room, we discovered that everyone was feeling the same way as we did.”

Elizabeth, who was born of West African parents in Glasgow, is married to a political journalist. 
“We met in Glasgow but there wasn’t any work for me there so I persuaded my husband to move to London,” she told me.
Elizabeth, who plays the girl Elizabeth, a school teacher who becomes a Tomorrow Person in the series, originally wanted to be a speech therapist.
“I joined the national youth theatre and changed my mind,” she laughed.
Elizabeth and her husband have what they call a “liberated” marriage in that they both share the cooking.
“I mainly cook African dishes. Things like Okra stew, Yams and curries,” Elizabeth told me.

Christopher Chittell, who plays Chris in the series, is also very keen on food and, until a short time ago, owned a restaurant in London’s Hatton Garden, where he did his share of the cooking.
“I never took lessons in cooking, I somehow just picked it up.” 
In his spare time Christopher practices Karate and aikido.
“Aikido is a Japanese pastime which involves using the force of your opponents to your best advantage.” Chris explained. “I find it a very mind soothing thing.”

The last word came from Roger Price for the Tomorrow People is the realisation of a fantasy which has lived in his mind since childhood.
“Science fiction does seem to have a way of becoming science fact,” he told me. “When I was a kid the comics were full of rockets to the moon. Now that is ancient history. I’d like to think there might be Tomorrow people out there somewhere.